A man has pleaded guilty to fly tipping waste at the public recycling point at a Tesco in Cambridge.

Ravinder Singh Virdee, of Cambridge Road, Oakington, was ordered to pay a total of £1,256 for fly tipping, which is a criminal offence under section 33 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

The court heard that a council officer witnessed Virdee dumping construction waste into the recycling bins in Cheddars Lane, on the morning of April 7, 2016. Investigations were carried out and, with the statement from the council officer witness, the enforcement team were able to track down the suspect.

Mr Virdee said that he did not realise he couldn't leave his waste at the recycling centre, and hadn't read the recycling centre sign properly. He apologised to the council and the court for his actions. Mr Virdee entered a plea of guilty for the offence and was ordered to pay a fine of £733, pay costs of £450 and a victim surcharge of £73 by Cambridge magistrates.

Dumping non-recyclable household waste at city recycling centres is not permitted, as none of the sites within the city boundary have facilities for the disposal of this type of waste.

However, residents, who have too much non-recyclable household waste for their black bin, can either arrange a bulky collection service with the council by contacting the council on 01223 458282 or take their waste free of charge to the Milton Household Waste and Recycling Centre

Cllr Anna Smith, executive councillor for Streets and Open Spaces, said: “Fly tipping is a blatant disregard for the environment and is a crime that we take very seriously.

"I want to pay tribute to hard work that council's enforcement and legal teams do to ensure these cases are dealt with. I am very pleased that the court has imposed a sentence that reflects the seriousness and recklessness of this offence.

"Fly tippers who ignore the rules that the rest of us abide by should have to pay the price for their anti-social, criminal behaviour."